Philadelphia Union: Rookie Stephen Okai could fill midfield void

UPPER MERION — There’s a crowd of players looking to fight their way into the three-man midfield that Philadelphia Union manager John Hackworth will pencil into his team sheet this season.

One of the surprising contenders for a regular place may be rookie Stephen Okai.

His credentials understandably fly under the radar from the small University of Mobile. But his versatility and skills are obvious. The native of Accra, Ghana, scored 10 goals and added nine assists in his senior season, playing as a defensive midfielder. In 77 matches at Mobile, he scored 20 times with 26 helpers.

Proving his range, he spent the last three summers with Reading United. While he may have slipped into the second round and pick No. 31, the 23-year-old is more mature than many of the players picked around him.

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You’ll be forgiven for not knowing about Okai; even the player was surprised when his name was called at the SuperDraft last week in Indianapolis. No teams approached him at the previous week’s MLS Combine with serious interest, perhaps in part because he was working out primarily as a defender. He was only at the draft to support former Mobile and Reading teammate DeShorn Brown, who went No. 6 overall to Colorado; the big item on Okai’s schedule was a trip to collect his NAIA Player of the Year honor the following day.

“It was kind of surprising because it’s been a while since one of the MLS teams drafted a player from the NAIA,” Okai said Monday at the team’s training at YSC Sports in Wayne. “So it was kind of shocking. Even when they called me up on the stage, they didn’t even have video or any highlights of me ready.”

Okai wasn’t dressed for the occasion, striding onto the stage in acid-washed jeans with holes in them.

“I didn’t want to hide away from the media; I didn’t want to be disrespectful,” Okai said. “So I just had to walk straight onto the stage. I just wasn’t expecting to be called onto the stage.”

Okai may be walking straight into a golden opportunity to contribute immediately for an MLS club. Hackworth, using the connection to Reading, knew what Okai brought to the table as a midfielder, and he’s adamant that Okai will have a chance to play right away.

“All you have to do is travel up the road and ask the folks up in Reading how important he was to their team for the last two years,” Hackworth said. “The coaches in the NAIA and a lot of people rate him as the best player in college, but he’s in a division that doesn’t get a lot of notoriety. He can pass for fun, is the way a lot of coaches have put it to me before. You could tell a little bit of that in the passing activities we did today. Physically, he’s ready for the demands of it. He’s a little older, more mature. If you look at the guys that were on the draft board at the time, we feel like he was a guy that was ready.”

He’s impressed early on in camp with his high soccer IQ, and his zeal for passing and defensive responsibility is perfect for the midfield of Hackworth’s 4-3-3 formation. The joy Okai brings to the field means Hackworth sees few similarities with soon-to-be-former Union player Freddy Adu, another Ghanaian-born, technically-skilled midfielder.

Okai, on the other hand, makes the small-college mentality work for him.

“That’s kind of funny, but as a player you have to get ready wherever you find yourself,” Okai said. “It’s kind of a cool experience especially coming from nowhere and jumping into the pro experience. I’m going to get a chance to train with those who are way more mature, they’re used to the game and I get to see how they behave and approach the game outside of here. I think it’s a very good environment to be in.”

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The Union added another player to the fold Thursday, signing former Harrisburg City Islander Academy player Alex Mendoza. The 5-9, 160-pound midfielder, who spent three seasons with Mexican club Pumas at various levels of its academy, holds dual American and Mexican citizenship and is a native of Harrisburg.

The Union also have a trio of trialists in camp, one of whom is a recognizable name to devotees of European soccer: Argentine midfielder Nicolas Medina, who failed to make an impact after a big money move to English Premier League club Sunderland in 2001 and has played in Spain for Real Murcia. The 30-year-old has been capped once by his country, during the 2004 Olympic Games in which the Albiceleste team led by Carlos Tevez, Roberto Ayala and Javier Mascherano won gold.

The other two trialists are 19-year-old midfielder Charles Renken, a native of Zambia who has been capped by the U.S. National team at various youth levels and has played for the youth sides of the Portland Timbers and German club 1899 TSG Hoffenheim, and hulking goalkeeper Tunde Ogunbiyi, a Gywnedd native and Boston College alumnus.

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Among the players taken in the MLS Supplemental Draft earlier this week was one player of local interest, Haverford School graduate Jordan LeBlanc. The 2008 Daily Times boys soccer player of the year and former Old Dominion player was taken in the second round, No. 27 overall by the Montreal Impact.

The 5-9, 165-pound midfielder is highly thought of for his soccer sense and ability on the ball as well as his work rate as a two-way player. He started all 17 matches for the Monarchs, finishing third on the team with five goals, including 3-for-3 on penalty-kick conversions, and adding three assists. He started 50 of 51 matches in his final three years at ODU.

His opportunity at a homecoming arrives Aug. 31 when Montreal blows into PPL Park. The Union play twice this season in Montreal, May 25 and Oct. 19.